


The Tenth Plan

by TMNT_Raph_fan



Series: TMNT 2012: Alternate Earth Stories [6]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bodyswap, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:07:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26832676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TMNT_Raph_fan/pseuds/TMNT_Raph_fan
Summary: Stuck in the wrong body and on the wrong side of enemy territory, Raph's gonna need all the help he can get from his friends and family in order to make it back home in one piece. Luckily for him, Kitkat and her brother have returned just in time to join the rescue party and lend a super-powered, helping hand. But when the bottled feelings Raph has for her threaten to be revealed, he fears he could lose more than just his body.
Relationships: Raphael (TMNT)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: TMNT 2012: Alternate Earth Stories [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/220964
Kudos: 2





	1. Homeward Bound

Kitkat Grimm walked across the rocky, alien terrain, heading towards the humble habitat her family, the Fantastic Four, had set up temporarily whilst working in the Negative Zone. They had been there for a couple weeks now, collecting samples and monitoring the alien life for any possible threats to Earth, and would be heading home in just a couple of hours. The super powered family was only supposed to be there for a week at the most, but an impromptu visit from a band of rogue Skrulls had set them back a great deal, needing to stop whatever plan they had come to the Negative Zone to cook up.

Kitkat typed in the code to open the door and entered the passage chamber. She waited for the door to close behind her so that the next one could open, and once it did, she stepped through into the actual habitat. She was already popping off her helmet as the door was closing behind her and brushing some hair out of her face. After removing the outer layer of her space suit, she went in search of her brother, Krispie. He was found in the kitchen, an area he had frequented during their trip. There were several boxes of food laid out in front of him. It looked as though he was trying to finish off the last of what food they had with them before returning home. Kitkat decided that a bite to eat beforehand wasn’t such a bad idea. She sat herself down across from her twin and reached for one of the boxes containing dehydrated soup packets, finally noticing just how much food her brother had in front of him.

“Is there an upcoming famine I don’t know about?” she teased, brow arching in his direction. She got up and walked her soup packet over to the counter, adding the necessary ingredients to rehydrate her meal. Leaning against the counter to wait for it to be ready, she turned back to her brother and crossed her arms in anticipation of his response.

His cheeks bulged from the food inside his mouth before he swallowed to answer his sister’s snide comment. “Ha. Ha. Very funny. I’ll have you know I’m simply abiding by the rule of ‘waste not, want not’.” He shoveled in another mouthful.

“This food doesn’t expire, ergo, can’t be wasted.” she informed him with a roll of her eyes. Krispie shrugged, determined not to let his sister ruin his meal. Kitkat pressed her lips together, displeased that her brother was opting to ignore her instead of taking part in their usual sibling banter. She stared him down for several minutes, hoping he would crack under the pressure and give a delayed response. She gave up relatively quickly, though, not needing a verbal tussle that badly. With another eye roll she turned to face her food and watch it finish rehydrating.

She returned to the table with her food after another moment of waiting. Her phone soon made its way to her side as she planned to check for messages while she ate. As luck would have it, there was one left by Raph. A smile creased her face as she thought about seeing him again. She had missed him a great deal while being away and was thankful for the many phone calls she had received from him, but a little saddened that she had missed this one. She decided not to worry too much about it, though, since it would only be a few hours until their reunion.

“Hey, Kitkat,” Raph said, his voice coming through the phone’s speaker with that typical hollow sound that accompanied most recordings. He sounded a bit flustered, but Kitkat chalked it up to being surprised that she didn’t answer and caught off guard at needing to leave a message instead.

He continued, “Sorry I missed you. You, uh, must be pretty busy with the whole mission. Um. I hope you’re coming home soon.” There was a muffled sound, like he was chastising himself for something, before his voice returned. “I mean, we’re _all_ looking forward to seeing you again.” He cleared his throat nervously, taking another pause.

Krispie had looked up and was giving the phone a peculiar, knowing glare, clearly intended for the person on the other end of it. It didn’t go unnoticed by Kitkat and she shot her brother a stern glare laced with questioning. Their eyes locked for a moment and he snapped his away, back down to his food so he could pretend nothing had happened. Kitkat continued to eye her brother suspiciously as she listened to the remainder of the message.

“Well, uh, anyway,” Raph went on, sounding a bit more frazzled, “we’re heading out on a mission ourselves. Kraang stuff. Who knows what they’re up to now? Donnie just got a hit from one of his scanners, so we’re heading in to investigate. And, uh, yeah…” He trailed off, seemingly losing track of where he was going with his report.

Suddenly Mikey could be heard yelling loudly in the background. “Who y’talkin’ to Raph?” The sounds of a scuffle soon followed, most likely muffled from a hand being place over the mouthpiece of the phone. Kitkat tore her suspicious eyes from her brother to chuckle at Raph’s and Mikey’s shenanigans as the sounds of their rough housing played through her phone. It eventually sounded as though Raph had won in getting himself and his phone away from his younger brother, but not before Mikey shot off one last teasing comment: “Oooh! Is that your girlfriend?”

Kitkat’s smile dropped and she could feel the blush creeping into her cheeks. Had Mikey known who Raph was leaving a message for, she thought, or was he just spouting the usual teases that were typical of younger brothers? She tried to tell herself that either way Mikey would have called out the same line and that he didn’t actually mean anything by it, but a quick glance up at her own brother put a different thought into her head. The same look he had given her phone earlier had returned, this time with a slight, disapproving shake of his head.

Raph’s voice came back in a panic, “Sorry about that! I-we, uh… I gotta go. I’ll see you later.” The message finally came to an awkward end, but Kitkat almost hadn’t noticed as she was too busy giving her brother the stink eye.

“What was that?” she asked him bluntly.

“That was a pretty pathetic phone call.” Krispie answered as he pointed to her cell with his utensil, misunderstanding exactly what she was asking.

“No. What were those looks you were giving?” she asked, rephrasing her question.

“What looks?” He was feigning ignorance now, and trying to end the conversation prematurely by stuffing more food into his face. She glared at him, driving the point home that she wasn’t going to let it go. Krispie began vigorously shaking his head as he hurriedly pulled his packets of food into his arms. “It was nothing! I don’t know anything!”

Before Kitkat could stop him and demand he elaborate on what exactly he was referring to, Krispie had run off towards his room in the habitat, nearly dropping several of the packets he scurried off with. She wasn’t impressed, and it showed on her face, but she also knew it would be unproductive to go after him and persist further. She fiddled with her phone instead, letting all the possibilities of what it _could_ mean run through her mind. She felt the blush return to her cheeks and wondered why she had been blushing at all. It seemed like it should have been an easy puzzle for her to solve, yet the answer remained vague like a stubborn word being stuck at the tip of one’s tongue. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind as if it were an etch-a-sketch. Returning her focus to her lunch, she decided to put aside all the odd behavior for another day and instead imagined what the looks on her friend’s faces would be when she handed out the souvenirs.


	2. Switched

Casey sat alone in the living room of the turtle’s lair while watching Super Robo Mecha Force Five and polishing off a slice of pizza. He sat lazily on the couch and was nearly sinking into the cushions; his outstretched, crossed legs serving as a tripping hazard.

“This show's cool, but where are the subtitles? I hate dubbed anime.” Casey commented, putting particular emphasis on ‘hate’. He took another large bite of his pizza slice as April and Master Splinter entered the room.

“Every day your skills improve, April,” Master Splinter told the blooming Kunoichi, and placed a proud hand on her shoulder, “but you must remain patient.”

“I could practice all day, Sensei.” she reassured him. They smiled and bowed to each other before parting ways. But as soon as the ninja Master’s back was turned April’s posture dropped and she held her arm, moaning in discomfort. She headed towards Casey and the couch, slightly limping as she went, and plopped herself down next to him. She stretched, trying to work out the kinks and soreness her body was now suffering from. Casey shoved the remainder of his pizza slice into his mouth and licked his fingers quickly. He wiggled them at April without adjusting his posture.

“If you need a Shiatsu massage, _magic Fingers_ is at your service.” he offered with a sly grin.

“Ew, more like _pizza_ Fingers.” she replied, tentatively grabbing his wrist with a knowing smile and pushing it away from her. Casey shrugged and continued to lick the pizza grease from his hands. The ding of a subway was heard in the background, and both Casey and April looked behind them expecting to see the turtle brothers. But instead it was Kitkat who excitedly leapt into the lair.

“Guess who’s back from space!” she greeted them loudly, one free hand raised in the air. “And brought souvenirs!” She lowered her arm and brought the other forth to reveal she held a bag. She swayed it back and forth as she approached her friends.

“’Sup, girl!” Casey greeted, raising his hand in a lazy wave.

“Kitkat!” April exclaimed, attempting to leap up to greet her friend but was stopped by the pain she still felt from her training session. Kitkat walked over and looked down at April with an inquisitive but playful smile.

“Kunoichi training session.” April answered her friend’s unasked question. Kitkat nodded and jumped down onto the couch to give April a hug, keeping in mind how sore she was.

“So, what’cha bring us?” Casey asked, pulling at the duffel bag to nab a glimpse inside. Kitkat jerked the bag away from him and returned his sly grin with one of her own.

“You gotta wait for the guys to come home to find out.” she told him, just as another subway chime was heard behind them. Kitkat’s attention was quickly drawn to the entrance as she stood in preparation to greet the turtles. She had a large smile on her face, excited to see Raph after being away for two weeks. But her face quickly dropped into confusion when she saw Leo and Mikey carrying Raph into the lair with a paper bag over his head; Don following behind them. April and Casey got to their feet and stood next to Kitkat, with April sharing an almost identical look with her.

“Guess Raph really ticked you off this time.” Casey joked, letting out a few snickers and shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets.

“Long story, but he got his brain switched with a Kraang.” Leo explained nonchalantly, putting Raph’s body down. Don came around and lifted the paper bag to show their friends just what they were dealing with.

“Release Kraang now, and Kraang will disintegrate you relatively quickly!” the Kraang in Raph’s body threatened. Casey’s expression went blank as he processed the situation he was being given. And then he laughed hysterically. Kitkat, however, had a different reaction. The confusion that had occupied her face was long gone, and in its place was distress and worry. Her arms fell to her sides numbly as Casey continued to laugh, her bag of souvenirs sliding from her fingers onto the floor.

“That is too funny.” Casey managed to get out between laughs, before being halted by a stern grip on his ear by Master Splinter. The commotion had drawn the Master out of his room, and he had gathered enough information about the situation to know Casey was taking it too lightly.

“Leonardo, explain. Now!” Master splinter demanded, giving his eldest son a stern glare.

“Um, uh…” Leo stammered, struggling how to explain all this to his father. As the words remained stuck in his throat and his father’s stern glare deepened, Kitkat made her way to Raph’s side, or at least Raph’s body. She knelt down and slowly lifted the paper bag. His blank expression sent chills up her spine.

His eyes jerked suddenly to look at her and she jumped back, quickly pulling the bag back down as she did. She stared at the imposing Kraang for a moment longer with a look of horror on her face, before spinning to confront Leo. The leader in blue was still trying to finish his explanation when Kitkat interrupted.

“Where is he?” she pleaded. The room went silent as all eyes fell on her. “Where is _our_ Raph?” Leo looked to the floor, shoulders slouching. He looked back at Master Splinter and could tell by his expression that he wanted the answer as much as Kitkat did.

“We’re not sure.” Leo confessed.

…

Raph began to stir from his unconscious state, his eyes lazily blinking open to an unfamiliar setting. He searched his memory for answers as to where he was, how he got there and just what exactly had happened, but he couldn’t make any sense of his situation. The last thing he remembered he was fighting the Kraang with his brothers in a warehouse. The aliens were testing some kind of machine that was capable of switching brains. Definitely not something that should be left in one piece. Raph had been fighting with one of the Norman bots and that’s where his memory became fuzzy.

“Kraang, transport Kraang to med bay for vitamin infusion.” he heard a robotic voice speak above him.

“Where am I?” Raph moaned out, still not fully registering his surroundings. Suddenly a Kraang-droid appeared above him, giving Raph the shock of his life. His mind raced with angry thoughts, chastising himself for getting captured.

“Kraang has been damaged, Kraang.” the Kraang-droid told him.

Raph shot up, clenching his fists in rage.

“Kraang? Who are you calling ‘Kraang’?” he spat at the alien robot. And then a thought quickly dawned on him. He began furiously feeling his face. “Oh, no.” he whispered in horror, coming to the conclusion that he had been brain swapped with a Kraang.

“Kraang has been damaged.” one of the robots repeated. “Kraang is acting …strange.”

Raph looked around nervously and gave them an awkward smile. If he could hold off their suspicion just long enough then he could find a way to alert his brothers and get himself out of this mess.

“No, I'm fine.” he lied, momentarily forgetting to sound like a convincing Kraang. He attempted to get out of the alien gurney that the droids were carrying him on, and immediately fell face first to the floor. He shot back up to his feet, but being unfamiliar with this robot shell, his arms unintentionally extended into the air.

“I feel great. Uhh…” Raph said as he realized the malfunction and managed to correct it before continuing, pushing past the strong resistance to get his arms resting at his side. “I mean, this Kraang is feeling much, um, kraangier.” His robot body twitched and glitched as Raph backed away from the two Kraang-droids, hoping desperately that his attempt to defuse the situation was a success. “Got Kraang stuff to do, so I'll just be, uh, kraanging off.”

Raph took off down a corridor as best he could with his legs refusing to co-operate. Bumping into a few walls along the way, he managed to get to an open space with windows. Thankfully the Kraang-droids that saw him come in didn’t realize anything was off.

“Looking good, Kraang.” one of them complimented as it passed by him, leaving the way Raph had entered.

Raph fumbled his way up to one of the windows, hoping that he could at least learn his location. However, the answer that he had been given only added to the trouble he found himself in. He looked out the window and was met with the dark, river waters that surrounded the Technodrome.

“Ah, Kraang.” he whined. “Worst. Day. ever!”


	3. Enemy Territory

Raph walked down the halls of the Technodrome, his robot body still glitching from lack of control. He was panicking about how to get out of this situation, how to contact his brothers, and being surrounded by the enemy was not helping his nerves; especially since he could be discovered at any moment. And just as that thought crossed his mind, Raph could see the approaching shadows of some Kraang from around the corner. Thinking quickly, but not very brightly, he slammed himself against the wall face first and tried to look invisible. He was so nervous that he would be sweating if his current body allowed it. The Kraang began to pass, but one Norman bot unfortunately stopped to stare at Raph’s strange behavior. Raph sighed, preparing himself for the following conversation. He turned around and addressed the Norman bot.

“So, um, Kraang who are Kraang, can you, um, like, tell me how to get to the nearest, um, Kraang exit?” Raph struggled with matching the robotic tone the Kraang usually portrayed and his arms continued to move about sporadically.

“The query Kraang has stated makes no sense to Kraang.” The Norman replied with a dead expression. “Kraang is busy.”

“Busy doing what?” Raph blurted angrily while forgetting to mimic the proper tone. “Busy doing what?” he repeated, this time sounding more like the Kraang. Without a word, the Norman turned and continued down the corridor, expecting Raph to follow on his own accord. Raph raised a brow, but followed non-the-less. The Norman led him to a communication room, which happened to hold an object of interest to Raph.

“A communication orb.” Raph whispered to himself. “Maybe Kraang, um, I can use it to contact Donnie.”

There was another Norman already inside as Raph and the Norman bot entered, listening to Kraang Prime explain their current plan over a video call.

“All Kraang in dimension X are mobilizing for the invasion known as the invasion of Earth.” she announced, her gaze falling to Raph as he entered. “Kraang, how is plan 10 progressing?” Raph didn’t respond, not realizing she was talking to him. He tip-toed to the communication orb and was caught off guard when Kraang Prime appeared on a closer screen.

“Kraang!” she bellowed. “I am addressing Kraang!”

“Ah! Oh, uh…” Raph stammered, fumbling with his new body once again. “Me, Kraang. Uh, plan 10? Well, as Kraang can see, everything's kraangtastic.” He finished with an awkward smile.

Kraang Prime paused, and for a moment Raph thought his luck had run out. He mentally braced himself for the fight he would have to endure, knowing that being this outnumbered did not bode well for him.

“Then let the switching of superior Kraang minds with inferior human leader minds begin!” she spoke finally, and Raph let out a sigh of relief. He knew these close calls would come to an end eventually, so contacting his brothers became his first priority. He was very fortunate when an opportunity presented itself as the other Norman bots left the room and Raph was left alone with the communication orb.

…

Back at the lair Leo was still explaining the night’s events to Master Splinter.

“After the explosion at the warehouse we grabbed Raph and got out of there. It wasn’t until we got in the Shellraiser that we realized it wasn’t Raph. So now we have to go back for his mind.” Leo finished as he turned to the exit without waiting for any confirmation from Master Splinter. His brothers and friends didn’t hesitate to follow, but before they could make it more than a few steps, they were stopped.

“Wait.” Master Splinter called to his children. “Have patience. It was Raphael's impatience that put him in the den of the enemy. You must not make the same mistake.” Kitkat stiffened at Splinter's words, already disliking Raph's current situation. She hugged her shoulders lightly and looked to the floor.

“So, what are we supposed to do?” April asked, raising her arms in a low shrug. Master Splinter stroked his beard as he thought.

“Hmm. A solution will arise. You must wait and—.” Master Splinter stopped mid-thought, his ears twitching at a sound suddenly echoing through the lair. Everyone stopped to listen.

“It's coming from my lab.” Donnie concluded. The group ran to his work room and quickly approached his desk, which held various Kraang tech the brothers had obtained during their missions.

“It's the Kraang communication orb.” Don stated, as the once white orb now blinked with purple spots. “It hasn't been active for months!” Donnie typed quickly at his keyboard to bring up the signal the orb was tuning into. A video of someone’s eye soon occupied the entirety of Don’s monitor.

“Donnie, it's me, Raph.” came a familiar voice. The Norman bot it was coming from backed away from the camera so his whole face could be seen. “I'm stuck in a Kraang body inside the Technodrome. You gotta believe me.” Pleading desperation was evident in Raph’s expression.

Casey couldn’t help himself as he once again began to laugh at Raph’s predicament, but April’s elbow jutting into his gut managed to silence him. Kitkat looked awkwardly at the screen, greatly discomforted at hearing Raph’s voice coming from the form of an enemy. She could only imagine the discomfort _he_ was feeling.

“Wait a minute!” Mikey chimed in, pushing in front of Donnie. “How do we know he's the real Raph? What's the secret ninja password?” He gave Raph a skeptical glare, and no one could tell if he was serious or just giving his brother a hard time.

Raph’s expression dropped to one of annoyance, which was nothing new when dealing with his younger brother. “I will pound you, Mikey!” he screamed across the video call.

“Close enough.” Mikey said, accepting his brother’s temper as the password. Donnie pushed his younger brother out of the way to type in more information.

“Okay, his coordinates are coming up now.” he announced. A pixilated image appeared on the monitor, shortly coming into view to reveal an overhead map of New York City. The image zoomed in a few times to reveal that Raph’s signal was coming from the river. Everyone's expressions dropped.

“It Looks like we're going swimming.” Donnie sighed.

With a grim expression, Kitkat pulled out her phone.

"I'm calling my brother." she said. "I feel like we're gonna need all the help we can get."

Suddenly the video chat went out.

"Raph!?" Kitkat blurted. "What happened?" She desperately looked to Donnie who began quickly typing at his keyboard.

"That doesn't look good. We need to get to him asap." he said, avoiding Kitkat's question. They all knew what it meant, anyway. It didn't need to be said out loud.

“Then let’s get to the Turtle Sub.” Leo said with command in his tone.

Donnie was the first to rush out of his lab, quickly followed by the rest of the group just as Krispie answered Kitkat's call.


	4. The Sub and the Sea Monster

Donnie had to prepare the Turtle Sub before they were able to take off, which gave Krispie just enough time to get there. The team was already beginning to board as he leapt over the turnstiles. The space inside became cramped rather quickly, as the sub was originally designed to only seat six, but it was something that the team was going to have to deal with.

Donnie took the driving seat, the only part of the sub that wouldn’t be over-crowded with passengers, leaving the rest of the team to fight for space behind him. Leo chose April and Casey to power the sub with him on the reimagined work-out equipment, Mikey guarded Raph’s Kraang-occupied body in the back, and the twins were left to stand in the limited space between Donnie and the peddling trio.

“How'd you ever talk me into getting into this leaky death trap?” Casey groaned.

“Hey!” Donnie snapped, ready to defend his creation. “The Turtle Sub is a fully amphibious strike vehicle, seats six and is Turtle powered.”

“Yeah, we know.” April said curtly from the elliptical. She had begun to tire from the constant peddling, and wasn’t at all thrilled that they still had some distance to go. Kitkat looked over to notice April’s distress. She elbowed her brother to get his attention and stood, moving to April’s side.

“Here. It’s my turn.” she told the frustrated red-head. With a relieved sigh, April immediately stopped peddling and hopped off the bike. She didn’t have to be told twice to take a break.

“Thanks.” she said, wiping her brow. Krispie went over to Casey to take over for him as well.

“I got your back, Case.” he told him. Casey rolled off the low seated bike and flopped onto the floor.

“Thanks, man.” came Casey’s muffled reply as he tiredly waved in gratitude. Krispie smirked and playfully rolled his eyes at Casey’s quirky behavior, and then positioned himself on the bike. He shapeshifted into an anthropomorphic rabbit and began to peddle with his arms tucked comfortably behind his head. Kitkat used her telekinesis to peddle her bike as she leaned against its seat. Casey glanced up at the twins.

“Show offs.” he muttered jokingly.

“I can take over for you too, Leo.” Kitkat told him as she stretched a glowing hand towards his machine. “You should rest while you can.”

He lifted his legs out of the way as Kitkat’s power kept the peddles moving, but remained in the seat to save on space.

“Thanks.” he said, not nearly as out of breath as Casey.

Kitkat smiled in return before shifting her gaze forward again, refusing to make any kind of eye contact with Raph’s body. Her expression turned somber as the worry inside her grew. April was the only one who noticed.

The redhead stood and leaned on the front of the elliptical to whisper to her friend. “You okay?”

Kitkat lowered her glowing eyes to floor as she thought of her answer.

“I’m just really concerned for Raph.” she finally replied.

“Yeah, we all are.” April said, giving her a knowing nod.

Kitkat continued, “And the whole body-snatching thing makes it more complicated than just another rescue mission. Not to mention I didn’t even get to give him a proper greeting, _any_ greeting, when I got back.”

April studied her friend, coming to an understanding that her fear for Raph went deeper than the others’.

“What are you two whispering about over there?” Casey asked suddenly, drawing everyone’s attention. A cheeky smile could be seen spreading across his face.

The girls replied instinctively, speaking in unison, “Girl stuff.”

That shut him up immediately as everyone else suddenly looked the other way, trying not to think about what ‘girl stuff’ implied. The girls chuckled to themselves as Leo busied himself with the periscope, scanning the murky waters ahead of them.

"Technodrome straight ahead." Leo announced, spotting the alien construct in the near distance. "We're getting close."

Mikey grinned and pulled a restrained, gagged and unimpressed Kraang-Raph close into a side-hug.

"And the coast is clear!" he cheered, with the wave of his arm. "No trouble in sight. We're home free."

As he spoke, a large shadow approached from behind them, gliding through the water at high speed. The creature swam circles around the turtle sub before coming to a stop in front of it. Everyone inside screamed as Donnie halted the sub.

"You just had to say something!" Donnie scolded his brother. But before anyone could panic any further, the alien sea-creature nuzzled the front of the sub and then shot back down into the depths of the river.

"Um, okay. What just happened?" April asked, on edge that the monster may come back. Everyone held their breath as Leo scanned the perimeter of the sub.

The creature returned, but still didn’t attack them. Instead it had a lump of garbage in its mouth that it was holding out to the sub as some kind of offering. The turtles were aware of the creature’s reasoning, but everyone else was left in the dark with what was happening and looked around to exchange questioning glances. Casey especially watched the spectacle with a disturbed look on his face, not knowing what to say, or even what to think.

"It kinda has a thing for the sub." Mikey clarified, but that didn’t make Casey feel any better.

"What are you waiting for? Pedal! Pedal! Pedal!" Casey screamed in a panic.

Kitkat and Krispie put their pedaling into overdrive, looking just as panicked as Casey. The sub sped off, continuing to head for their destination and leaving a heartbroken sea creature behind them. Saddened by the rejection, it followed.

"Agh! It's following us! Faster!" Donnie screeched, informing the peddlers to pick up the pace.

Kitkat’s glow intensified while her brother changed his form to a cheetah. It got the desired effect as the peddle speed increased drastically.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. The creature easily caught up and got in front of the sub, turning around to ram it head on.

"Torpedoes away!" Leo ordered as the alien sped towards them. The mouth of the turtle-sub creaked open and a home-made looking rocket shot out. It sailed through the water and landed a direct hit on the creature. The blast rippled through the water, knocking the sub back and jerking its occupants around.

"Did we get it?" April asked, once everyone had regained their balance and composure.

Her question was quickly answered when the sea creature attacked the sub, slamming into it twice in a fly-by pattern. Screams echoed around the interior of the sub as the team struggled to keep themselves from tumbling around inside. They retaliated with another torpedo, but missed as the creature dove and disappeared below them.

"Now where'd it go?" Casey asked, almost sounding annoyed. They glanced out the windows, desperately searching for the sea creature.

"I got it on sonar!" Donnie announced loudly as an alarm blared over him, accompanied by a red light that washed everyone in an eerie glow. Just then the sub began to jerk back and forth. Everyone inside was being knocked around the cabin, slamming into the walls and each other. Kitkat was knocked to the floor, losing her focus on her telekinesis. The thrashing motion of the sub threw her to the other side of the cabin, right into Kraang-Raph. She shuddered as he looked at her with dead eyes, and then scrambled away from him quickly.

"We're being eaten alive!" Mikey screamed, almost directly into Kitkat's ear, causing her to flinch.

"Donnie, do something!" Casey demanded, after being slammed into a wall.

"We got a pair of super powered twins on board! Why am I the only one who has to do something!?" Donnie shouted back.

April looked to Krispie and Kitkat.

"He has a point." she said.

"I can't use my powers on something I can't see!" Kitkat shouted back, more in panic than aggravation.

"But you _can_ get me outside." Krispie suggested excitedly. He leapt over to his sister's side. "Push me through the floor with your intangibility."

"Why the heck would you want that!?" Casey cried out. He was clinging to one of the walls of the Turtle Sub, eyes wide with panic.

"Because I can shape shift into a freakin' megalodon and fight off the sea creature attacking us." Krispie explained point blank while giving Casey a smug smile. Casey's wide eyes squinted into an unimpressed glare, still refusing to release the wall.

"Then why don't you DO IT ALREADY!" He screamed.

Kitkat put her hand on her brother's shoulder and he turned back to face her, giving her the nod of approval.

And then the sea creature attacked again, grabbing the Turtle Sub by its rotor. It jolted everyone around again and Casey's grip on the sub grew tighter, slamming his eyes closed as it did.

"You ready?" Kitkat asked her brother once they recovered.

"Let's do this." Krispie replied.

Kitkat’s eyes lit up and Krispie began to sink through the floor. He could feel the cold sensation of water against his skin as he continued to be submerged, and just before his head went under, he took a deep breath. Kitkat pushed her arms all the way through, making sure her brother was fully out of the sub. Her sleeves were soaking wet when she pulled her arms back inside.

The group held their breath, waiting for a sign that Krispie had been successful. There was one more jerk of the sub and then everything went still. Everyone ran to a window, hoping to get a glimpse of the action. Sure enough, just as Krispie had promised, they saw the sea creature being attacked by a giant shark.

Krispie tore into its tail, sharp, serrated teeth cutting into the skin like butter. He thrashed about to give the creature a taste of its own medicine, and soon it was apparent that it couldn’t handle the ferocity of the extinct beast. It cried out in pain, head-butting Krispie several times in an attempt to get him to release, and since the plan was to repel and not kill, Krispie obliged. He tossed the creature aside and began to circle it menacingly, hoping it would swim off instead of coming in for another attack. With its injury, the creature bobbed awkwardly as it debated its next move, Krispie circling it all the while. Eventually the creature turned away from the sub and disappeared into the shadows below as quickly as it could manage.

Krispie took its example, diving below the sub in preparation to re-board. Casey was still looking out the window, trying to figure out exactly what the shape shifting twin was doing. Suddenly an octopus slammed against the outer wall of the sub right where Casey’s face was. He let out an unflattering scream as he stumbled backwards, landing on his behind.

“What the heck is that now!?” he cried out, shuffling further away from the window.

“Relax, Casey.” Kitkat told him, phasing her arm through the glass to grab the animal. She brought her arm back in to show the octopus wrapped around it. “It’s just Krispie.”

The octopus quickly changed shape, revealing that Kitkat was correct in assuming it was her brother.

Krispie immediately began laughing once he was in his original form. “You should‘a seen the look on your face!”

Casey shot to his feet, ready to put an end to his mockery. Kitkat promptly stood between them.

“Alright, everyone,” Donnie interjected before anything else could pop up, “we have enough foot power to start up the engines.” The propellers roared to life as he spoke, allowing the team to continue to the alien base without any further manual labour. Everyone sighed in relief at the news, even if it wasn’t much longer before they arrived. “Prepare to dock.” Donnie announced.


	5. Rescue Mission

Donnie docked the turtle-sub successfully and, miraculously, without detection. But still everyone remained silent, fearing that the alarms would come if they made any sound. They were thankfully proven wrong after several minutes passed and no commotion erupted from outside.

Leo turned to the others with a finger raised in front of his lips, signaling to keep voices low.

He spoke in a whisper, “We need to make a plan of action, but above all, we need to stick together.” He faced his purple-banded brother, opening his mouth to give specific instruction before snapping it closed immediately and scanning the sub with wide eyes.

“Where’s Kitkat?” he asked sharply, eyes still flickering around his friends. They followed his lead in looking around for their missing member, but sure enough the turtle-sub was down one passenger. Leo rubbed his face in frustration, letting a dramatic sigh escape his lips.

Krispie pocketed his hands as a puzzling stare slid onto his face. “Well, that’s really not like her.”

Leo lowered his hand to his chin, directing a displeased glare towards Krispie to inform him that comments such as those were unwanted. Krispie caught the blue leader’s stare and responded with a sheepish chuckle.

“We haven’t even made the plan yet, and we already have to change it.” Leo mumbled between sighs. “Alright, here’s what we’re gonna do.”

…

Kitkat moved slowly down the corridor, eyes darting around suspiciously and her hand hovering along the wall. She didn’t dare to actually make contact with the alien metal lining the vast hallway, as she would inevitably trigger an alarm if she did. She continued to glance around; frequently checking behind her to make certain she wasn’t being followed. Although it was more likely that she would be seized immediately if a Kraang came up from behind her, it was still a good reason to keep an eye on her six. She frowned at herself, thinking about how it would be easier having her friends to watch her back, and her to watch theirs. She still didn’t know why she snuck off alone the second they docked into enemy territory; she only knew that her anxiety was what kept her legs moving now, along with the concern she held for Raph’s safety that thundered in her chest.

Unless, it was more than concern that fluttered around her heart.

Her hand flew up to cover her mouth as the thought planted itself in her mind, her cheeks flushing the colour of a rose. She hesitated a moment to shake away the thought. Now wasn’t the time for self-reflection.

Her silent footsteps drew her closer to the edge of a corner as she went back to casting her quick glances about. She got low to the ground, hovering just before the turn to peer around it and assure herself that the next hallway was clear. Her fingers brushed against the ground as she scanned forward, keeping an ear open for sound behind her. Once she confirmed her path would remain Kraang-free she tentatively stepped out into the new corridor, following the same routine of slow movements and quick glances.

She started when a door just ahead of her burst open and a Norman-bot stumbled out of the room that was behind it. He slammed the door shut with a panic and jerked his head to lock eyes with Kitkat. She acted instinctively, drawing forth her telekinetic energy that flared like white fire around her hands and in her eyes. Clenched fists and a menacing scowl would hopefully send the message that she wasn’t going to make it easy.

“Kitkat!?” the Norman-bot called out excitedly as his panic washed away. “You’re back!”

His arms shot out towards her, but her fast reflexes carried her underneath them to his other side where she resumed her battle stance. He turned around clunkily and met her confused stare with his own.

“Raph?” Kitkat questioned as the sound of his voice caught up to her. Her glow faded as she relaxed, an awkward smile slowly replacing the confusion on her face.

“Yes! Yes, it’s me!” he sounded relieved and excited all at once, despite still being in a troublesome predicament. The smile plastered over his face seemed to be as big as the robot exoskeleton would allow. Kitkat shrank slightly, finding it unsettling to be looked at by a Norman Bot in such a way, whether it was Raph behind those eyes or not.

“Oh. Great.” she said awkwardly. “Finding you, that is. Not so great that you’re a … a y’know.” She shifted her gaze around the hallway, trying to avoid eye contact, as her hands flapped about to her rambling.

Raph was unaware of her discomfort, being too blinded from his excitement of her return to notice her fidgeting. He did, however, become instantly aware of his rushing feelings. His internal thoughts erupted into chaos; one part screaming to act casual while another pleaded for him to confess his true affection. Seeing her so abruptly like this, without having time to prepare himself or even knowing that she had arrived back on Earth, had thrown his emotions into a tailspin.

It was all suddenly silenced when a single thought sparked in his brain: you look human in this form.

With this realization a third part of himself began suggesting he take advantage of his human-like appearance. He thought about taking her hand in his or even daring to kiss her while he was in a form that more-so matched hers. Even if it was just a robotic disguise, this, it would seem, was the closest he was going to come to being human.

He tried to push the thoughts from his mind while coming to his senses and telling himself now was neither the time nor the place. But the robotic shell that encased the Kraang body he was stuck in acted on his thoughts before he could banish them. Moving seemingly on their own accord, Raph’s robotic limbs reached out and grasped Kitkat’s shoulders.

She was jarred from her ramble by the sudden contact and gave him a look of shock and concern as she suddenly became speechless. Raph stared back at her, panicked by his lack of control. Thankfully the robotic grip wasn’t strong enough to harm her.

His arms began to twitch, trying to enact a command that Raph was trying to abort. He let out a timid chuckle and flashed her a nervous, crooked smile.

“I just can’t get the hang of this body.” he explained in an attempt to ease the embarrassment. “It’s been glitching since I woke up.” The two of them were suddenly nose to nose as Raph’s robot shell pulled Kitkat towards him.

This is where she put a stop to it.

She acted out in her discomfort, moving before she could think. Her white glow returned to her eyes as she pushed him away, using her intangibility to phase out of his grip. Raph landed harshly on the floor, his arms falling to his sides lifeless and sparking. He wasn’t able to move them at all anymore.

“I swear I didn’t tell it to do that!” he burst out in a panic. His wide eyes shot up to her face, hoping not to find any traces of anger or annoyance. To his relief she appeared concerned for throwing him down as she moved to help him up.

“Sorry. The Norman face is very off-putting.” she said as she wrapped her hands around his bicep and lifted him to his feet, an effortless action thanks to her super strength.

Raph let out a restrained laugh between pressed lips. “I guess I kept the enemy a bit too close this time.”

Her genuine chuckle made his heart skip a beat and he found himself once again fantasizing about her.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the sounds of marching Kraang filled the hallway behind them. Both teens tensed as the threat of being captured grew closer by the minute. Without a word Kitkat grabbed the front of Raph’s shirt and pulled him along as she ran down the corridor, his arms flapping comically behind him. She prayed they wouldn’t run into any Kraang ahead of them before she could find a place to hide. She took a chance on the first door they came across, opening it with her telekinesis. Diving into the unknown room nearly gave them each a heart attack when they came face to face with more Kraang-droids. Kitkat, quickly recovering from the shock, activated her powers in preparation to fight off the inter-dimensional aliens.

“Wait!” Raph whispered hastily. “They’re just shells. Close the door!”

Kitkat obliged, turning her power on the door instead of the inactive droids. She sealed them into the darkness of the storage closest just in time as the Kraang were heard passing by mere seconds later. They remained silent, fearing a single breath could out their position and bring the Kraang charging back. They stood like statues, basking in the gentle glow emanating from Kitkat’s hands. Raph couldn’t stop himself from thinking about how beautiful it made her.

Kitkat let out the breath she had been holding, signifying that she believed the coast was clear. Turning back to Raph she realized she still held onto his shirt in a vice grip. She snapped her arm away.

“So,” Raph whispered, not wanting to let the silence go on, “can you explain why I can’t move my arms?” He saw the soft glow shift in her eyes as they looked down to the dead limbs hanging by his sides.

“Yeah, that’s my bad.” she whispered back. “My intangibility tends to short circuit any tech I phase through.” She held up a glowing hand to one of the empty droids that surrounded them. “How about a replacement?”

“I only just got the hang of this one.” he joked, still keeping his voice low.

“You call that stunt you just pulled on me _getting the hang of it_?” Raph could hear in her tone the smirk she was no doubt giving him. At least she was joking about it; that was a good sign.

Raph felt a tug on his clothes and realized Kitkat was pulling at them again. She popped open the first button and, if the Norman-bot had the capability, Raph would have blushed.

“Um, why are you…?” he trailed off with his question, unable to utter it in full.

“How else are we going to transfer you to a working droid? Your arms aren’t working, remember?”

She continued to undo the buttons until she was able to spread his shirt open completely and reveal the pink-fleshed creature hidden in the torso. Hesitating briefly as she reached for the true body that Raph was trapped in, she took his slimy form into her hands and rushed him into the droid, the Norman Bot Raph had previously occupied falling lifeless to the floor. Kitkat waited with bated breath for the droid to activate. It wasn’t long before the eyes were lighting up and the head was raised to look at her. Raph moved his new metal limbs around to test their working order, seeming to have a better handle on them.

“Thanks.” he said.

“It was the least I could do for breaking the old one.” she returned.

“What happened to the rest of the rescue party?” he asked, suddenly registering that he and Kitkat had found each other alone. He saw her rub the back of her neck, but couldn’t think of a reason why his question would cause her to react that way.

“I may have left them in the turtle-sub,” she confessed with a short pause, “as soon as we docked.” She tensed as she waited for his judgement at her brash decision. It surprised her when she heard a breathy chuckle instead.

“Acting impulsive in my place, huh?” he nudged her arm playfully before heading to the door.

“Heh. Yeah, that must be it.”

Raph cracked open the door enough to peer outside. “Let’s go find them then.”

As soon as he uttered those words an alarm began blaring around them. The teens froze, fearing that they were the target. With the door held open at just a sliver Raph could see a group of Kraang run past them. He jerked his head towards Kitkat, his glowing eyes meeting hers. The shared thought was obvious to both of them without having to confirm it verbally: the rest of their party had been compromised.

“Follow them and blend in.” Kitkat instructed, tossing him a blaster that was hanging on the wall. “I’ll trail behind out of sight.”

“Got it.” Raph said with a nod. “I’ll see you when the fighting starts.”

He stepped into the corridor and moved quickly to catch up, ready to save his family.


	6. All Together Now

Raph rounded a corner to the sight of his brothers and friends being surrounded by blaster-wielding Kraang-droids. They were looking ready to put up a fight, determined not to be captured. A Kraang at the front of the pack was just finishing his threat of destruction, allotting Raph the perfect moment to intervene.

“Stop! Do not destroy the ones who are Turtles.” Raph spoke slowly, mimicking the Kraang’s robotic mannerisms, while waving his hand to get their attention. He was incredibly thankful that his robot shell was incapable of showing any nervous ticks that could give away his ruse.

The Kraang turned to face him with what would have been confused stares if they were capable of expressing such emotion. The turtles and their friends grew suspicious also, not sure what to make of this interruption.

“Kraang must destroy the Turtles.” the leader spoke again.

Raph stumbled to the front to address him up close. “No, Kraang must transport Turtles for brain switching with Kraang by order of Kraang prime.”

He marched around the Kraang, putting himself between the alien and his family, and waited for how it would react. He had to stifle a relieved sigh as he watched the Kraang begin to disperse, falling for his lie.

When the leader Kraang hesitated Raph spoke again, “Go ahead. Go on. Move.” He emphasized each order with a brush of his hand, waving the soldiers away. He finally let out that sigh once the corridor was free of all _real_ Kraang. Turning to his would-be rescuers, he didn’t hesitate to lay into them. “You guys are lame. How could you get captured so easily?”

Leo was the one to step forward, ready to counter Raph’s insult. “Coming to save you.” he threw at Raph’s question, not caring whether it was rhetorical or not.

“So did Kitkat, and she made it farther than you.” Raph jutted a thumb vaguely behind him, hoping that she could hear him and make herself known. His gamble paid off as she phased through the wall to join the others, shrinking slightly at their unimpressed glares.

“So, that’s where you snuck off to.” Krispie said flatly, hands planted firmly in his pockets. She remained silent, having no excuse that she could offer up to them.

Raph leapt to her defense, “She found me, and we found you. Now let’s quit wasting time and—.”

He was abruptly cut off as Mikey and Casey could no longer hold themselves back. The scheming duo pushed past their leader in blue, going straight for Raph’s exposed Kraang body. Their poking and prodding became incessant before it really even began, with their comments being the final straw.

“This is too awesome, Raph.” Casey told him. “You feel like chewing gum!”

“You're all pink and tentacle-y.” Mikey added. “It's just so wrong.”

They’re laughter chimed in tune with each other’s as they remained oblivious to Raph’s rising temper. A brusque slap across both of their faces put a quick stop to the whole charade, if only for a moment. After a short pause and a quick glance to one another, Casey and Mikey returned to their hearty laughing. Raph mentally rolled his eyes and shoved past his friend and brother. Leo anticipated Raph’s move and was already holding out his sai to him as he approached.

“Well, it’s time to make it right.” Raph declared. Taking his sai into his hands brought the hot-headed brother comfort as the feeling of familiarity washed through him. Twirling them around was all Raph needed to prepare himself for the fight to get his body back. “Let’s move.”

…

The Neuroswitcher containment court was a hotbed of activity, swarming with Kraang-droids of all kinds surveying the mass of monitors that lined the floor. Lights blinked, switches were flipped and digital commands were punched into the mainframe. Every Kraang had a job to do, and they did it meticulously. Three Norman Bots entered the room as the Neuroswitcher came online, rising to its extended height.

“The Neuroswitcher is activated.” the first Norman Bot stated.

“Kraang will become world leaders.” added another.

Their attention was alerted when the doors behind them opened unexpectedly. Turning to face the abrupt intrusion, the Norman Bots saw Raph’s Kraang-droid being followed into the room by the turtles and their friends with their hands held behind their backs as if bound. It was enough to fool the aliens into inactivity.

“Stop the experiment.” Raph spoke sternly while mocking their robotic tone, hiding his sai behind him. “You have new orders.”

The Norman Bots Stared a moment before the head of the group spoke, “Turtles are not part of—.”

Raph’s sai dug into the alien robot’s forehead, putting an end to not only his sentence but the functionality of his exoskeleton as well. It fell lifelessly to the floor, the Kraang inside no doubt struggling to free himself from the shell of his suit. Raph walked over and roughly retrieved his sai from the bot, swirling both weapons aggressively in his hands before calling out just as aggressively to the aliens.

“They are now!” he shouted.

The rest of the team followed Raph’s lead in drawing their weapons and activating their powers, but didn’t rush into action until Leo gave the command: “Get ‘em!”

They charged the enemy, leaving Raph’s Kraang-occupied body, tied and gagged, sitting in the doorway. The room erupted into a cacophony of chaotic battle, with clanging metal, blaster fire and flying kicks.

“Don’t hurt the machine!” Raph reminded them over the increasing sound around them as he hooked a Kraang-droid’s arm with his sai and flipped it over his back. “Donnie! Get that thing working!”

Donnie swung his bo staff, knocking several Kraang off their feet to make way for him to run to the controls. He sheathed his staff as he slid to a stop in front of the monitors connected to the Neuroswitcher. He glanced around at the various symbols and images adorning the touch screens. Deflating visibly, he mumbled to himself, “Oh, sewer apples.”

He knew his work would be cut out for him as he deciphered the hieroglyphic language to determine how the contraption worked. But his brother was counting on him, and that was all the motivation he needed.

The team separated into two groups in a strategy to protect the machine while Donnie worked. Leo kept some of the focus on himself as he leapt between the metal piping that circled the room, evading every blaster fire that came his way. April, Casey, Kitkat and Raph all took a stand on one of the second-story platforms, covering each other as they fended off the Kraang. Hands burning with white, telekinetic energy, Kitkat halted incoming blaster fire in midair and directed it back to its source, as the others used their weapons to fight off any alien robots trying to climb up the platform.

Krispie and Mikey stayed on the ground, guarding Donnie as he analyzed the alien machinery. With glowing, white eyes Krispie flew above the Kraang, avoiding their blaster fire by swirling around in the air. He wore a smug, cocky smile like it was a first-place medal.

“These guys have worse aim than storm troopers.” he noted, mischievously folding his arms behind his head. He circled the Neuroswitcher with leisure, still managing to avoid every blast from the enemy. A few stray shots grazed the machine and Donnie shot the boy an irritated scowl.

“Do you mind!?” he screeched in frustration. “We can’t let _them_ damage this thing either!”

Krispie quickly landed, his smug smile turning slightly sheepish. He decided then was a good time to take an alternate approach, shape shifting into the form of a bear and swiping at the many Kraang that attempted to swarm him.

“Yooooo!” Mikey raved at the twin’s power, cheering him on with a couple enthusiastic pumps of his nunchuck-wielding fist before twirling said weapon and bringing it down on an unsuspecting Kraang. “My dude takin’ ‘em out with his _bear_ hands!”

Mikey flipped over to Krispie, taking out a few Kraang while mid-air, and extended a hand to his friend for a high five. Krispie happily obliged, slapping his paw into Mikey’s hand while ignoring the Kraang struggling and sparking within the grip of his other arm. The two howled in laughter at Mikey’s pun as they continued to fight against the aliens.

Donnie looked over to them, thoroughly unimpressed by their immaturity, and muttered to himself, “At least the machine’s not under fire anymore.”

Meanwhile, being left unsupervised, Raph’s Kraang-occupied body got to his feet amidst the chaos. He was still chained around his torso and duck taped across the mouth. At least he was before a stray bit of blaster fire freed him from the chains, and with his hands free he was able to remove the tape silencing him. He scanned the battle, looking for someone in particular. When his eyes settled on his own body wielding a set of ninjutsu weapons against his kind, he knew he had found that someone.

“Kraang will have his revenge against turtles.” he swore in a monotone drawl.

April faced off against a group of Kraang that was slowly beginning to overpower her. She swung her tessen in a futile effort to destroy their blasters and keep them at bay. She delivered several punches and spin-kicks that only barely delivered a better result, deciding she needed a new tactic.

“A little help, Casey?” she called to her hockey-masked friend as she blocked some blaster fire with her weaponized fan, grunting from the painful impact. She heard him shout a warning behind her. Glancing quickly over her shoulder, she saw he was preparing to slap-shot a cherry bomb puck and ducked in time for it to strike its intended target. The puck ignited on impact, jarring the Kraang from the platform and breaking off several pieces of their exoskeleton. April turned to Casey, giving him an appreciative smile which he gladly returned.

Kitkat was dispatching her own group of attacking Kraang, using her telekinesis to knock them off with the flick of her wrist or splitting them in half with a single, super-strong spin-kick. She struck another Kraang-droid, relieving him of both his gun and his arm before it fell with the others, and turned to face what she thought would be more bots. Startled by who she saw, she took a step back and the glow faded from her eyes and hands. She stared into the emotionless face of the Kraang who had stolen Raph’s body. She was ill prepared to fight him, too afraid that her powers might injure Raph’s body and any chance he had of returning to it. She tried to recall her telekinesis to at least use it for defense against the blaster the body-jacking Kraang was pointing at her, but her powers didn’t want to respond.

“Kraang must seek revenge against the one known as Raphael.” the alien threatened. “The one known as the Grimm Twin must be removed from Kraang’s way.”

Kitkat didn’t like the sound of either of those statements. She began backing away from him, trying to think of a way to subdue him with her powers not co-operating.

“You!”

Before Kitkat could turn to see who called out Raphael was charging out in front of her, putting himself between her and the Kraang.

“I’m gonna knock you right outta my body!” Raph declared as he angrily approaching the Kraang. This was a face off he had been eagerly awaiting.


	7. My Body Is Your Body

Donnie was still struggling to decipher the control panel, his eyes darting back and forth from several screens and various symbols. He had a hand firmly planted on his chin as his mind raced. He began speaking to himself, unaware that he was being listened to. “One of these things has gotta activate the targeting matrix.” He raised his hand, ready to try a button. He was interrupted when Krispie, back in human form, ran up beside him and smacked one of the touch-screen buttons.

“This one?” he sarcastically asked, fleeing quickly before Donnie could shoo him away angrily. Donnie took a step towards him, ready to scold him for recklessly button smashing.

Mikey slid over to the screen on Donnie’s other side, catching onto Krispie’s game. “Or maybe this one?”

Donnie shot his head around to see his brother wildly pushing buttons, causing his heart to jump. He side-stepped quickly, shoving his shoulder into his kid brother to knock him away from the console.

“Get out of here!” the purple banded turtle demanded, clearly irritated by the two troublemakers unable to grasp that now was no time for fun and games. Mikey stumbled over to Krispie, a smile still plastered on both of their faces and laughter escaping their lips.

Donnie returned to the console to find that Mikey, much to his dismay, had found the setting he was looking for. The machine raised its arms and the touch screen console became active, scanning the room for available targets and waiting for further command to be implemented. Donnie heaved a sigh, not surprised in the slightest that Mikey’s luck had delivered them the results they wanted by chance. He took over, praying that Mikey didn’t notice that his actions had benefitted them, and inputted what he hoped were the correct targets.

“Here goes nothing.” Don muttered to himself, wincing slightly in anticipation. “Ready, aim, fire!”

A whirring began emanating from the machine, increasing in volume while it twitched and vibrated. The locator arms jerked as it searched to aim for the targets. A beam finally shot out of each arm, but as they sailed through the air it was clear that something had gone wrong.

April and Casey froze as they were struck with a jolt of energy. Thankfully it wasn’t painful, but they still cried out from the discomfort it caused them. After an excruciatingly long minute, the beam finally subsided. Casey opened his eyes, taking a moment to recover from the odd sensation that had ripped through him. He froze again as he realized something still didn’t feel right. He looked down at himself, unable to hold back his impish giggles when he saw he was in April’s body. The giggles continued as he shamelessly took a peek at his, or rather April’s, butt.

“Cool.” he snickered to himself.

“Ugh!” April’s shout of disgust came from the other side of the platform. She lifted Casey’s mask from her face to glare at the teenage boy taking advantage of being in her body. “Stop checking yourself out, Casey!” She turned her venomous glare to the turtle responsible. “Donnie, switch us back right now!” she demanded. Donnie looked up to see Casey speaking to him with April’s voice.

He replied instinctively with a calm tone, “Oh, I’m sorry, Casey.” Not a second later his eyes bugged out and panic rushed through him as the reality of the situation caught up to him. “I mean, April!” he corrected with a shout. He threw his focus back to the machine’s controls, trying to sort out what went wrong and how to fix it. “Working on it!” he tried to assure his friends, frantically pressing buttons on the touch screen.

April looked back to Casey and her glare deepened.

“Stop pinching your own butt, Casey!” she shouted, having half a mind to throw one of his cherry bomb pucks at him. She would definitely be having words with him later for this behavior. She saw him straighten up immediately in response to her demand, but he couldn’t seem to wipe the smile from his face.

“I didn’t do anything.” he denied, not fooling anyone. A small chuckle even escaped his lips, earning him a deeper glare from April.

The locator arms swerved around the room, sending the beams that were still shooting from it everywhere and threatening to strike anyone who dared cross its path. It rushed across the floor, barreling towards Mikey and Krispie who had to quickly dodge it between throwing punches at the Kraang. Another beam climbed the wall towards Leo, who barely managed to dodge it by jumping to the next pipe along the wall. The beams swept along the walls, heading towards the same point from opposite directions. Unfortunately, Raph and Kitkat were in the direct path of the beam, too distracted by fighting Raph’s Kraang-occupied body to notice.

The beams struck. Raph and Kitkat felt the wave of energy rush through them, but only Raph recognized it. The beam soon subsided and began to move on before Donnie got it under control. Raph opened his eyes, seeing the Kraang body he had been occupying a moment ago standing right next to him; it was even still holding his sai. Without thinking, he snapped his head down to look at himself, only to snap it back up when he saw he was in Kitkat’s body. Kitkat, trapped in the body of the Kraang-droid, was twitching and jerking her limbs as she attempted to maneuver the robotic shell.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me!” Raph blurted, not noticing that his hands and eyes began to glow white.

“Raph, no!” Kitkat tried to warn him, but was interrupted by another blast from the Neuroswitcher.

By looking at her hands she could tell she was now in Raph’s body. Don must not have seen them switch, and had believed he was switching Raph and the Kraang back.

“This really isn’t any better.” she muttered under her breath before turning back to Raph who was now realizing he was glowing. Before she could do anything to help him, her attention was stolen by the Kraang who was raising his blaster at her after trading Raph’s sai for it. She took a startled step back.

“The turtle known as Raphael will never be a turtle again.” the Kraang droned as the blaster lit up. “Prepare to be exterminated.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Raph roared as he grabbed at the blaster, pushing the firing end away from Kitkat. “Time for some payback!” He didn’t intend to grip the blaster that hard, but he could feel the metal crumple within his grasp, damaging it beyond use. He pulled his free hand back, clenching it into a glowing fist. “I call this Plan One!” He thrust his fist forward, punching the Kraang-droid right in his chest.

The alien sailed across the room, over the machine, and crashed into the wall. The robot exoskeleton shattered as it made contact, and any parts of it that didn’t get imbedded into the steel siding fell to the floor with a clatter. Raph was left holding the crushed weapon, which he promptly dropped in order to admire his glowing hands. A smile spread across his face as he turned back to Kitkat.

“Okay,” he began before briefly pausing, “the super strength I like.”

Kitkat gently grasped his hands, or rather her own hands. The large mutant mitts enveloped them, nearly blocking out their glow. Raph’s eyes met hers, barely registering her concern as he fought the blush flooding into his cheeks.

“You need to stay calm.” she warned, although he found the difficulty of her request increasing by the second. “When I first got them, my powers reacted to my emotions.”

“A-and they don’t anymore?” he stumbled out his question, feeling his face grow hot.

“Years of practice. I learned to disconnect my powers from my emotions so I could control them both separate from each other. But you don’t have that control, so I need you to stay calm until we get back to our own bodies.”

The busted blaster at Raph’s feet, along with some other debris around them, began to float into the air. Each piece had a soft white aura glowing around it, unmistakably the work of Kitkat’s telekinesis under Raph’s lack of control.

Donnie, finally figuring out how to properly work the Neuroswitcher, activated it for what he hoped would be the last time so he could return April and Casey to their proper bodies. The beam hit them and they felt that same wave of discomforting energy rush through them.

“Finally.” April breathed a sigh of relief once she was reunited with her own body. Casey, however, had a different reaction.

“Aww, man. I kinda liked being a girl.” he moaned as he patted his chest. April rolled her eyes at him, knowing exactly what he liked about it. She placed a hand on her rear, lightly rubbing where Casey had been pinching it, and vowed to never let him near it again.

“That should do it!” Donnie called out to the others. “Everyone ready to bail?”

“Not by a long shot, Donnie!”

He looked up in response to Kitkat’s shout, but it wasn’t her glaring daggers at him. It was his brother’s displeased eyes that he met, and it surprised him for a moment when Raph opened his mouth only to have Kitkat’s voice emerge from it.

“You have one more switch to fix!” she shouted.

Donnie grew wide eyed as he jerked back towards the machine. “How the heck did that happen?”

He didn’t actually expect an answer. Kitkat was about to shoot him one anyway just to spite him, but was robbed of the chance when the beam stuck her and Raph for the last time.

As soon as she was back in her own body, the glow from her eyes and hands died down and the floating debris around them dropped to the floor. She wrapped her arms around herself and let out a breath, taking a short moment to relax herself.

Raph let out a bellowing laugh. “You did it, Donnie! I’m back!” He kissed his arms a few times, showing just how much he appreciated being himself again.

“Then let’s get out of here!” Leo ordered, cutting Raph’s victory dance short. He jumped down from the oversized pipes he had been bouncing across to join Krispie and Mikey by his genius brother’s side. “Donnie, sabotage that thing!”

Donnie twirled his staff above his head, pausing only a moment to trigger the blade at its one end. He brought it down with force and sliced into the metal until he saw sparks flying.

“Done and done.” he confirmed after retrieving his staff and safely securing it on his back. The machine began to hiss and vibrate violently, proving Donnie’s statement.

Without thinking, Raph reached for Kitkat’s arm and guided her as he followed his brothers in running to the door.

The Technodrome was falling apart as the teens ran down the corridors to get back to the turtle sub, nearly losing their balance as shockwaves rippled under their feet. They were lucky to not come across any Kraang as the aliens were most likely busy with the impending destruction of their underwater base. The group arrived at the turtle sub not a moment too soon and all but dove into it. Donnie threw himself behind the controls, already starting the engines as his brothers and friends packed themselves in. Raph and Kitkat were the last to board.

“Everyone’s in! Hit it, Donnie!” he called out as he ushered both of them inside. Donnie immediately closed the hatch upon hearing his brother’s confirmation. The custom submarine shot out of the docking bay only moments before the Technodrome erupted behind them and the valiant teens couldn’t help but cheer at their victory.

Raph smiled over at Kitkat, his cheeks warming slightly when she smiled back. Her eyes flicked down to her arm and then back to him. When he followed her gaze, he realized he hadn’t let go of her arm yet and quickly released his grasp. His eyes jerked away as he attempted to hide a nervous cough with his balled fist. He scanned the sub, thankful that no one seemed to notice their little interaction. His smile fell as he came back to himself, remembering just why he kept his feelings for Kitkat hidden. He cursed himself for daring to feel hope. After all, she had already showed him how she felt when she literally pushed him away earlier. He awkwardly stepped away while rubbing his neck, not noticing the sad look come across Kitkat as he did.

“It’s good to be back in the old red and green.” he announced proudly, putting his previous thoughts behind him. “And, guys … thanks.”

Everyone paused, all eyes on Raph.

Mikey leaned over to his brother in blue and whispered, “Did he just say…?”

“I think he did.” Leo replied, looking just as baffled as his baby brother.

Everyone turned their attention back to Raph as he continued to speak, “I just wish _I_ could’ve taken out the Technodrome. But I did catch a glimpse of the Kraang’s invasion plan. They’ve got thousands of soldiers ready to go.” The sub grew silent, worry occupying everyone’s minds. It reflected on their faces as their eyes shifted around to each other, an unasked question on the tips of their tongues.

Mikey was the one to ask it, “So, how will we stop it, Leo?”

More silence.

Leo could feel all eyes shift towards him, waiting for an answer that he didn’t have. He could feel the quiet linger, unable to bring himself to speak. It wasn’t until his Sensei’s advice drifted into his thoughts that he gained the courage to answer his team.

“Like Master Splinter told us,” Leo spoke, “a solution will arise in time.”

“I think I may already have one.” Donnie spoke up from behind the steering. “I still need to put it to paper, but I think I can make us a giant turtle mech to fight the Kraang.” He was quite proud of his suggestion, turning slightly to flash them a smile. And there was certainly one turtle who was just as pleased as he was.

Mikey beamed up at his older brother. “Donnie, you’re an even bigger genius than I am.” He looked as though he was already imagining what the final product would be.

The occupants of the turtle sub relaxed, glad to have a leg-up on the Kraang and a decent plan underway. With their worries set aside for now, the teens got comfortable for the ride home.


	8. Souvenirs and Celebrations

Spirits quickly picked up once they got back to the lair, resuming the celebration of their victory. Cheers were heard once again as they came through the turnstiles and flopped onto the couch. Master Splinter was drawn by the noise and came out to greet them, starting with Raphael.

“It’s good to have you home, my son.” Master Splinter told him while placing a hand on his shoulder. A glimmer of relief twinkled in his eyes as a small smile creased his face.

“It’s good to be home, Sensei.” Raph replied, returning his smile. Master Splinter pulled his son into a warm hug before he left the children to celebrate amongst themselves.

Casey was already draped over the couch, flicking on the TV to continue watching Super Robo Mecha Force Five. He was quickly joined by the others. As Kitkat took a seat, Casey sat up to eye her expectantly.

He spoke up once he caught her attention, “Don’t think I forgot about those gifts you brought back from space.”

“Gifts?” Mikey perked up, materializing beside Kitkat. “There are gifts?” Excitement rang through the teens as they crowded her, chattering about the possibilities of souvenirs from another dimension.

“Alright, alright.” Kitkat told them, giving in to their demands. She raised a glowing hand and levitated the duffel bag that she had left at the lair before the mission. She telekinetically brought it to her outstretched hands and set it in her lap. Everyone took a seat around her, eagerly waiting to see what was inside.

“Since he’s been waiting so _patiently_ ,” she began as she unzipped the bag, “I’ll present Casey with his gift first.” She reached into the bag and pulled out a belt with eight puck-sized discs strapped to it. “These were confiscated from the Skrulls. They’re concussive bombs that you can use in a similar fashion as your cherry-bomb pucks.”

Casey’s eyes lit up as he took the belt from her, loving the idea of being able to use alien tech to knock out their enemies. He jumped up from the couch and snapped the belt around his waist.

“Oh, heck yeah! How does it look?” he asked as he struck a pose, putting one foot up on the couch.

“You look like you’re wearing a utility belt.” April told him with a smirk. Casey cheekily stuck his tongue out at her before flopping back onto the couch.

Kitkat reached into the bag again, pulling out an unassuming metal band. “For April I have another apprehended piece of Skrull tech. This wrist band projects a hard light holo-shield that can be used as protection or even to trap unsuspecting attackers.” Kitkat placed the bracelet into April’s palm, who promptly slid it onto her wrist and watched in awe as it shrunk to the perfect comfortable fit.

“Handy.” April said simply, admiring the modest metal wrapped around her wrist. She made a mental note to practice with it later.

Kitkat went back into the bag, this time pulling out a slim, black, tablet-sized box. “This one is for Donnie.” she announced. Confusion flashed briefly over Donnie’s face, unsure what the simple-looking object could be. Kitkat gave him a knowing smirk as she continued, “This is a Skrull mini-computer, packed with all kinds of alien tech that I’m certain you can reverse engineer and find a use for.” Donnie’s confusion quickly gave way to his excitement and as soon as Kitkat set the device in his hands he had to fight the urge to run into his lab immediately. Saying he was itching to explore the alien computer was a vast understatement.

Kitkat was reaching into her bag again. “Leo, for you I brought a Skrull space helmet. Not only does it make a cool accessory, but it also has surveillance capabilities. The visor has all kinds of cool tech for magnifying images, identifying adversaries and other such intel gathering.” Leo beamed at his gift as she handed it to him. He was ecstatic that it was a genuine space helmet, like something from Space Heroes, and he even had an excuse to wear it on missions. He turned it over in his hands, his smile slowly dropping into a look of concern.

“I, uh, don’t think this is going to fit me.” he said, deflated.

“The Skrulls are a race of shape shifters, so their battle tech shifts with them.” Kitkat revealed with a sly smile. “Just try it on.” Leo looked from her to his helmet and slowly lifted it above his head. As he pulled it down with the same cautious motion it began to get bigger, just as Kitkat said it would. Like April’s bracelet, it became the perfect fit and Leo was pleased to be playing with the controls of the visor, beaming once again.

“Next up is Mikey.” Kitkat announced, rummaging through her bag again. “For you I have a simple yet stunning inter-dimensional space rock.” She pulled out a chunk no bigger than her fist, glistening with colourful, unknown minerals. It was even already enclosed in a clear display case. “Uncle Reed already scanned it and confirms that there’s nothing harmful about it.” she added.

“Duuuude!” Mikey cheered as he practically snatched his gift from Kitkat in his excitement. “This will look great in my room with the rest of my collections!” He turned it around in his hands, watching is shimmer in the light.

Kitkat spoke again, “And last, but certainly not least, the final gift is for Ra-…Raffle?” She looked around, unable to find the red banded turtle. The others joined her in looking around. She visibly deflated when she realized he had left while the souvenirs were being distributed.

“He went towards his room.” Krispie stated, being the only one not enthralled by the souvenirs. It was surprising that he even paid enough attention to notice Raph sneak off, considering he had been gaming on his phone the whole time.

Leo lifted up his helmet. “He’s probably just tired.”

“Most likely, yes.” Donnie confirmed. “With the amount of stress he experienced from being in enemy territory and being brain switched, there’s a good chance he’s experiencing an adrenaline crash.”

Kitkat nodded absentmindedly, her eyes drifting towards the boys’ bedrooms. “I’ll just check on him, then.” she decided as she took his gift out of the duffel bag. “So, I can give him this.” She stood from the couch, moving the bag from her lap to the floor, and began making her way to Raph’s room.

“Thanks for the souvenirs, Kitkat!” Mikey called after her, waving his rock in the air. The others followed his lead, sending out a chorus of thanks before she could leave the room.

“Of course! What are friends for?” she said as she gave them one last smile before turning down the hallway.


	9. Confession

Raph sat at his drum set lazily beating out a quiet tune. He had decided to sneak away during the commotion the souvenirs brought, too embarrassed by how he had acted around Kitkat to face any of them. He imagined them laughing at his lovestruck delusions, just as they did with Donnie and his feelings for April. He took a pause from his drums and twirled the sticks around between his fingers like he did with his sai. He stopped almost immediately to let out a heavy sigh, shifting the sticks to one hand so he could free the other to rub his forehead. Hunched over his drums feeling sorry for himself really wasn’t how he wanted to spend the first moments back in his body. All the times he tried to shake away his feelings, lying to himself about how he truly felt, only succeeded in making him feel miserable. Now was no different.

His thoughts were interrupted by a light knocking. He looked up to see Kitkat peeking into his room, a hand slightly raised from just having knocked. Raph stiffened.

“Hey, you alright?” she asked, giving him a sympathetic smile. “You disappeared on us.”

“Y-yeah. Yeah.” Raph replied once he finally found his voice. “I’m just …tired.”

“Donnie said you might be.” she said as she slipped inside his room a bit further. “Although, I hoped you wouldn’t be too tired to receive your souvenir.”

Her smile was contagious as Raph soon found himself returning it with his own. He chuckled, trying to ignore the warmth rising in his cheeks. “Not at all.” he told her, gesturing to his bed as an offer to sit.

She stepped around his door as she closed it behind her before making her way to his bed, the entire time keeping his souvenir hidden behind her back with both hands. Raph put aside his drum sticks as she took a seat.

“Ready?” she asked. Raph gave her a nod and she promptly revealed the hidden item: a sci-fi-looking blaster weapon that would have been right at home in Leo’s Space Heroes show. “I heard that you collect weapons, so I thought you’d like to have one from an alien race. This is a Skrull blaster-rifle, permanently set to stun thanks to my Uncle Reed.”

He stared at the gift and Kitkat couldn’t tell if it was out of awe or disappointment. She held her breath, trying not to let her nerves betray her. After a moment he finally blinked, cracking an impressed smile.

He reached out to take the blaster as he spoke, “This is incredible!” He held it up, pointed at his door as if her were going to fire it. After a moment he brought it back into both hands to admire. “Thanks.” he told her. He stood and walked over to the locker where he kept the rest of his collected weaponry. He opened it to reveal the contents. Blunt and bladed weapons made up most of the collection, along with a few bolas chains and throwing stars. He had no other blaster weapons though, and hung his new one on the door proudly.

Kitkat eyed the arsenal with intrigue. “That’s quite the array of tools. Do you ever use them?”

“Only on special occasion,” he replied, closing the locker, “when missions are high stake. Otherwise, I prefer to stick with these.” He turned and untucked his sais from the back of his belt, twirling them in a show of skill before quickly sticking them back in their place. “Or these.” he flexed his arms as he walked back over to Kitkat. His display made her burst into laughter.

Raph smiled at making her laugh, hoping she wouldn’t notice the red hue his cheeks had taken on. He lowered his arms and hooked his thumbs into his belt. He turned his head to try hiding his blush but still chuckled along with Kitkat. Their laughter eventually died down and Raph was thankful that the blush in his cheeks faded at the same time.

Silence fell over the two of them and Raph decided to ask a question that had been on his mind since he nearly lost control of Kitkat’s powers.

“You said your emotions don’t control your powers anymore.” he stated. Confusion plagued Kitkat’s face as she wondered if there was a question attached to his statement. He continued, “But tonight, you seemed to struggle with them.”

Her eyes immediately went to the floor, a little embarrassed. “You saw that?”

“With your powers you could’a taken me down easy, but when Kraang-me went after you, you froze. What happened?”

“Well, I definitely have more control now than I did even a year ago, but sometimes my emotions still get the better of me.” she confessed, still refusing to look up at him.

Raph stared at her, noticing her hesitancy in admitting what went wrong; whether it was to Raph or herself was unclear. He debated to himself on whether or not he should continue, but his curiosity made the final decision for him.

“What emotions got the better of you tonight?” he asked reluctantly.

Kitkat thought back to the moment, when her powers refused to activate. It only happened when she came face to face with the Kraang taking residence in Raph’s body; when she was looking into the face of her friend, but he wasn’t the one looking back. She thought about how worried she had been, to the point where she did something rash and went off alone. And then she thought about how relieved she felt when they all piled into that sub to head home, and how she liked the feeling of Raph’s hand resting on her arm.

When the realization hit, she wondered how she hadn’t seen such obvious signs. Clearly her heart had been trying to tell her that she had feelings for him for quiet some time now. Maybe it had started when they first met as kids, on the day he saved her life. Or maybe it was more recent when they reunited. Either way, it had happened and now she was finally aware.

She looked up into Raph’s eyes, realizing he was still expecting an answer.

“The ones I have for you.” she answered, testing his reaction. She saw his eyes widen for a second as he quickly averted his gaze, and she could have sworn there was some blush creeping into his cheeks. “And the ones I have for the Kraang.” she added cheekily. He looked back at her, heavy confusion playing on his face. She had to fight off a smile as a laugh threatened to emerge, finding it too easy and enjoyable to tease him.

His mouth hovered open as he tried to think of a question to get her to elaborate, but she spoke up again before he could. “I care about you and your safety, but for the Kraang all of my feelings are negative. Seeing the two of you mismatched together caused some kind of … emotional conflict.”

Raph’s stare fell to the floor as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “Is that why you pushed me away when I, … um, y’know?” he asked awkwardly.

“That was a reflex gone wrong,” she confessed, “but, yeah, that’s why. Sorry.” She flashed him a crooked smile, still disappointed about how she had acted before.

Raph simply shrugged and waved his hand dismissively, not holding it against her. He appeared to be just as embarrassed by his own actions as she was of hers. Her smile fell for a moment as she remembered the exact scene they were talking about; specifically, Raph’s seemingly _uncontrolled_ actions. Her smile returned as a thought crossed her mind.

“What about you?” she asked with a very mischievous tone. “What exactly were you trying to do when you … you know?”

Raph stiffened at her question, growing more nervous at where this conversation was going. “It … was a glitch.” he lied.

“Kind of a weird glitch, don’t you think?” Her eyes bore into him suspiciously, but her playful smile never wavered.

Raph let out an uneasy chuckle. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t had a lot of experience working Kraang bots.” He avoided her gaze as he fidgeted awkwardly.

“Well, what were you thinking at the time?”

He froze. Admitting what was going through his mind at the time of his glitch, and therefore confessing how he felt about Kitkat, wasn’t something he ever thought he would do. He was too afraid of the rejection and ridicule that could’ve followed. But, as he slowly turned to meet her eyes, he saw the possibility for hope and, just maybe, a chance worth taking.

“I …” he began hesitantly as her comforting smile gave him strength. “I was thinking about how nice it would be … if I could kiss you.”

Kitkat faltered, not quite expecting that kind of confession.

Raph watched her cautiously, unsure of which reaction she would give him. It surprised him when she stood without a word. He was frozen where he stood as he watched her walk towards him, and when she placed a hand against his cheek, he could have sworn his heart stopped.

And then she was kissing him.

It took Raph by surprise, and for a moment all he could was stand there with wide eyes. But as he felt her free hand slide up to his shoulder he slowly began to relax. He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer into their hug. The feeling of her lips pressed against his was breathtaking; everything he imagined and more. Even the sensation of her fingers gently tracing his jawline was mesmerizing. He was saddened when it came to an end.

They slowly pulled away from their kiss, but otherwise remained in their embrace. They opened their eyes and stared into each other; giddy smiles spread across their faces.

“Did that live up to the expectation?” she asked in a hushed tone.

Raph let out a short, breathy chuckle. “I’d say you exceeded it.”

Kitkat’s smile grew. “I quite enjoyed it myself.”

She tucked her head into the crook of his neck as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He brought a hand up to run her hair between his fingers. Both enjoyed the tenderness of the moment.

“You mean that?” he asked, still feeling like this was all too good to be true.

“Of course.” she answered. “All you have to do now is ask me on a proper first date.”

“It’s a deal.”

They lingered in the moment for as long as they could, neither wanting to bring it to an end, but eventually Kitkat gently pulled away.

“Why don’t we go back out, join the celebration?” she suggested. “No one earned it more than you today.”

Raph nodded. “Yeah, I guess I am feeling less tired now. Celebrating sounds good.”

Kitkat looped her arm around Raph’s elbow and began leading him out of his room.

“Then let’s get out there.” she said. Raph followed her lead. Neither of them could stop smiling as they exited his room and headed to rejoin the rest of their team.

And as Raph beamed over at the girl of his dreams, he came to the conclusion that this was the best moment of his life.


	10. Liz Gordon

Donnie sat in his lab fiddling with the Skrull computer Kitkat had given him. After he had seen her and Raph exit his room practically hand in hand the jealousy he felt towards them had soured his mood a great deal. No one else had seemed to notice though; neither his change in mood nor the way Kitkat and Raph were now acting towards each other. He had continued to celebrate with the team for almost another hour while pretending like nothing was wrong, but that was all he could bare before retiring to his lab for the evening. It wasn’t long after that when their friends decided to head home, given how late the night was getting.

An hour later Donnie had already taken the tablet-like computer apart, meticulously mapping out its construction and leaving various pieces of it strewn across the table. The power source attracted his attention first due to its glowing nature, and he was currently examining it with a pair of tweezers and a magnifier.

He was interrupted by one of his perimeter alarms.

The shrill tone emanating from his alarm system was unwelcoming in the quiet atmosphere Donnie had established that night, but it was also short lived. Silence returned to his lab after a moment, leaving the blinking, red warning light as the only remnant of the previous alarm. Donnie quickly put down what he was doing and rolled his chair over to the computer console, immediately typing in commands to bring up the security footage. The live footage showed nothing, as Donnie expected, so without hesitation he rewound the recording to find what he was looking for.

A figure was seen staggering through the tunnels, clearly in a weakened state. Donnie was surprised they had made it out of view of the camera before he got to his monitor. Details of the figure were grainy from lack of light, even with the night vision that was equipped, but Donnie could tell by the visible tail that this figure was a mutant. He wondered if they were one of Shredder’s mutants trying to sniff out their lair or lure them out with a wounded act. Having anyone related to the Shredder being this close to their home certainly wasn’t a good thing, which meant this needed to be investigated.

“We have a situation!” Donnie called out, knowing his brothers were still in the family room watching TV. He heard them jump up from the couch and scurry into his lab.

“Already?” Raph groaned as the three of them entered, Leo in the lead as always. He was looking over his genius brother’s shoulder in a matter of seconds.

“What is it?” Leo asked in his trademark serious tone.

Donnie gave an answer immediately, “Lone figure in the tunnels; mutant and appears to be wounded.”

“Appears?” Leo repeated.

“I suspect it might be a trap, possibly a Foot recruit or someone they mutated to use against us.” Donnie clarified.

Leo thought for a moment as he stared at the image on screen. His brothers waited for his decision. “We’ll investigate, keeping a low profile. If they really need our help, then we shouldn’t deny them on the chance it could be a trap.”

No one argued or delayed in following his order, they simply grabbed their weapons and snuck out the front door.

…

The turtles stayed in the shadows as they followed the trail of the mystery mutant, using Donnie’s security footage to guide them. With no additional activity detected in the tunnels, Foot Clan or otherwise, and this mutant travelling further from their home with every footstep, the turtles were beginning to believe there was no immediate danger.

“They just walked out of view of my last camera.” Donnie announced quietly.

“That’s in the direction of the drainage drop off.” Leo added.

Raph looked between the two them. “You think they know it’s there?”

They all looked worried in response to Raph’s question, quickly coming to the conclusion that this mutant needing their help was more likely than the Shredder being behind it. They took off down the tunnel, praying that they wouldn’t be too late. They passed the edge of Donnie’s security system with no sign of the mutant and as they rapidly approached the drop off the panic within each of them rose.

All four brothers slid to a stop as they reached the edge of the drain.

“Hello?” Leo called over the roar of water while pulling a flashlight from his belt and waving it about frantically. “Hello, is anyone here?” He scanned the tunnel with the flashlight but didn’t see any movement. His heart sank, fearing he had failed this individual who was most likely still coping with being mutated.

“Help … me.” a small voice cried out from down below, nearly drowned out by the thundering waters. “Please, … I need … help.”

Leo cast his light over the wall of the tunnel directly beneath them, and there, clinging to the side of it for dear life, was the mutant they were looking for.

“Hang on, we’re coming!” Leo told them before turning to his brother. “Donnie, I need ideas.”

Donnie had already produced a line of rope that he had secured to his belt before they left the lair, holding it out to his brother. “We can lower you down with this.” he said.

Raph quirked a brow. “Why did you bring—?”

“Not now, Raph.” Leo interrupted, tying the rope around his waist.

Donnie fastened a bolt anchor into the side of the tunnel and began feeding the rope through it, handing the slack off to his remaining brothers. They wrapped the rope around themselves to better support Leo’s weight and the mutant he would be bringing up with him. Leo leaned backwards into the tunnel, planting his feet as best he could against the slippery surface as his brothers gradually lowered him down.

He reached the mutant and saw that they were gripping onto the protruding lip that wrapped around the tunnel to protect its seal. It wasn’t a lot of metal to hold onto, and Leo was surprised they had managed to keep their grip for this long. He extended his hand towards them, not wanting to waste any more time.

“Grab my hand.” he told them.

Their head turned to look at Leo, but the limited light made it impossible for either of them to see the other clearly.

“I can’t. I’ll fall.” they replied with a shaky voice.

“You’ll fall if you don’t. I need you to reach for my hand. I will catch you.”

The mutant didn’t move right away, but Leo could tell they were losing strength and wouldn’t be able to hold on for long. And then their arm shot away from the tunnel wall and gripped his wrist. Their other hand slipped away just as they connected. They swung out and Leo struggled to keep his feet from slipping off the wall as well. As the mutant flailed from panic below him, Leo began to lift them up. Eventually he got them high enough so that they could reach up and grab onto his shoulders. Leo then wrapped his arm around their waist to secure them.

“Donnie, bring us up!” he shouted.

They raised them out of the drop off as quickly as they could without compromising the rope’s integrity. Once they reached the ledge Raph came forward to help them up. The mystery mutant collapsed to the ground at the brother’s feet, too weak to stand. Leo knelt down next to them.

“It’s alright, you’re safe now.” he told the mutant. “What’s your name?”

The mutant looked up at him. In the light of Donnie’s flashlight, the brothers could see that this mutant was a lizard of some kind, and based on their torn and soiled clothing it was clear that their mutation had been recent.

“My name … is Liz Gordon.”


End file.
